Michael H. Cramer has joined the Chicago office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart in labor and employment practice. Formerly with Sachnoff & Weaver, he is past board president of the Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS).

Also an artist whose cartoons have appeared in the ISBA Bar News and other publications, Cramer had several collage pieces on display last month in a University of Michigan alumni art show at the Around the Coyote Gallery.

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Loves Park attorney Nerino J. Petro, a member of the ISBA Assembly and vice chair of the Committee on Legal Technology, has left private practice to accept a position as practice management adviser to the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Petro served on the planning committee for the ISBA Solo and Small Firm Conference last month and says he hopes to be invited to speak at the next one.

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Lonni E. Berkley has joined the Real Estate and Environmental Department as a partner in the Chicago office of McGuireWoods. Formerly a founding partner is Vigil & Berkley, she is executive vice president and general counsel for Century Development Group and a member of the Chicago Mayor's Commission on Municipal Finance.

James J. Henderson II has joined McGuireWoods as an associate in labor and employment law. He was a law clerk to Judge William J. Bauer of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Alison Vratil Mikula is a new associate in the Health Care Department. She was with Katten Muchin Rosenman.

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Wallace J. Wolff, a bank trust department attorney for 23 years, has joined Sheldon Good & Co. Intl. as senior vice president in the Chicago headquarters of the global real estate firm. He was most recently executive vice president and trust counsel for First American Bank.

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Carrie Ann Williams has joined the Law Offices of Amari & Locallo, Chicago, as an associate and supervisor of its residential real estate assessment practice.

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Bernard A. Schlifke is a new member of the firm of Aronberg, Goldgehn, Davis & Garmisa, Chicago. He was a principal in corporate practice with Schwartz, Cooper, Geenberger & Krauss.

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Nathalie Collins has joined the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg as an associate in labor and employment law litigation. She was a summer associate for two years.

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Farhad K. Patel is a new corporate finance partner in Chapman and Cutler, Chicago. He was with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for six years.

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John T. Karnezis has been named a partner in the Clifford Law Offices, Chicago, and Brian S. Shallcross is an associate. Karnezis joined the firm in 2000 after nine years as an assistant Cook County state's attorney.

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Gregory M. Wright has joined the Corporate Finance Practice Group in the Chicago office of Dykema Gossett.

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Sara Lee Keller has joined Freeborn & Peters in Chicago as a partner in corporate practice. Previously with General Electric Capital Corp., she was associate general counsel for Express Financial Solutions.

New associates at Freeborn & Peters are John Hammerle, Theodore Koerth and Jane Yanovsky in litigation, and Todd Labinsky in corporate practice.

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Gardner, Carton & Douglas, Chicago, has expanded its Customs and International Trade Practice with the addition of three professionals.

They are Joan A. Koenig, former manager of the General Motor Corp. office of export compliance; Robert W. Hardy, who was senior customs consultant with Baker & McKenzie and U.S. deputy assistant commissioner of customs, and Karen Lobdell, a global trade and supply chain specialist and licensed customs broker.

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Kevin M. Foley has joined Katten Muchin Rosenman, Chicago, as a partner in its financial services practice. Formerly of counsel to Ungaretti & Harris, he was chief counsel to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Division of Trading and Markets for four years prior to his 11-year private practice.

A member of the Committee on Regulation of Futures and Derivative Instruments of the American Bar Association Section of Business Law, Foley serves on the Future Industry magazine editorial advisory board.

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Shay Baldwin has joined Levin Ginsburg, Chicago, as an associate.

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Schwartz, Cooper, Greenberger & Krauss, Chicago, has elevated two associates, C. Elizabeth Darke and Joseph Q. McCoy, to partnerships in its Real Estate Finance Practice Group.

New associates at Schwartz Cooper are Stanton B. Miller in Business and Private Wealth and Intellectual Property, and Joan M. Eagle in Labor and Employment, both formerly with Michael Best & Friedrich. Also Michael J. Legamaro in Business and Private Wealth, from Barack Ferrazzano.

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Timothy P. Scahill and Brian C. Bassett have joined Stellato & Schwartz, Chicago, as associates.

Law firms expand, elect chairs

The 75-year-old nationwide creditors' rights firm of Weltman, Weinberg & Reis added the partners in the collection and bankruptcy firm of Feingold & Levy – Jeffrey M. Feingold and Jay K. Levy – to its expanding Chicago operation on Aug. 1 and will maintain a Deerfield office.

Weltman, Weinberg & Reis has named Feingold as managing attorney of administrative operations, and Levy as managing attorney of legal operations. John Pucin is managing partner of the firm's Chicago office.

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Shareholders of Vedder, Price, Kaufman & Kammholz, Chicago, have elected Robert J. Stucker as board chair and Michael A. Nemeroff as president. Douglas M. Hambleton has been elected chair of the executive committee.

Stucker had been president of the firm since 1995. Nemeroff chairs the Finance and Transactions Group and the Strategic Planning Committee.

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Berger Schatz has been the new name since Aug. 1 of the Chicago firm formerly known as Kalcheim, Schatz & Berger. The firm also has a Bannockburn office.

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The office of Thomas M. Schroeder & Associates has relocated to Suite 1120, 980 N. Michigan, Chicago 60611-4522, telephone (312) 324-0733.

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Freeborn & Peters, based in Chicago, has expanded and redesigned its Springfield office, quadrupling its space and adding client amenities. Audio speakers connected to the House and Senate permit monitoring of legislative activity.

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Scopelitis, Garvin, Light & Hanson has opened an office in Los Angeles. Other locations are Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Washington, D.C.